Construction giants band together for biggest Startup Competition
The Construction Startup Competition 2024, the biggest competition, network, and platform for startups in the construction and cleantech industries is now up and running.
Prominent industry giants and venture capital firms Cemex Ventures, Dysruptek by Haskell, Ferrovial, Hilti, VINCI Group’s Leonard, NOVA by Saint-Gobain, Trimble, and Zacua Ventures have launched the open call for innovative startups worldwide as hosts of the 8th edition of Construction Startup Competition.
Construction Startup Competition promotes innovation, collaboration, and technology adoption between corporates and startups with solutions that fall under the competition’s 4 focus areas: Green Construction (sustainability), Enhanced Productivity (efficiency), Construction Supply Chain (on time), Future of Construction (disruptive). It is also an invaluable tool for startups to network with potential partners, earn capital, pilot in global markets, and pitch to active industry investors and potential clients. This year, 3 winners will receive cash prizes at Pitch Day, the final competition milestone, held at Trimble’s Dimensions User conference on November 11-13, 2024.
Over the last 7 years, Construction Startup Competition has been a launching pad for almost 3,000 startups to facilitate fundraising and gain notoriety. The competition has named 36 winners, which have collectively raised more than US$396M in financing. More than one third of winners have received investment from and/or are working with one or more of the competition hosts, and 3 Contech acceleration programs use the competition as a qualified pipeline to build their cohorts.
“Every year we receive hundreds of applications from Contech and Cleantech startups, some of which have gone on to become big names in the industry, receive hundreds of million dollars in investment, and commercialize and expand their companies,” said Gonzalo Galindo, Head of Cemex Ventures.
As the construction sector demands change, the biggest innovators are saying to startups, “Let’s build something bigger together!” Contech & Cleantech startups looking to showcase their solution can take the next step and apply today here.
Construction Startup Competition
Since its first edition in 2017, startups from more than 80 countries have participated in the biggest challenge aimed at startups in the construction industry, the Construction Startup Competition. Many entrepreneurs have gone on to collaborate with the participating companies after applying to the Competition. Given the global outreach of its partners, the 2024 edition expects to see an increase in the number of applications, to identify the most innovative solutions around the world, continue growing the Contech ecosystem and begin agile adoption of applicants’ innovative technologies and business models.
Cemex Ventures
Launched in 2017, Cemex Ventures focuses on helping overcome the main challenges and capitalizing on the opportunity areas in the construction ecosystem through sustainable solutions. Cemex Ventures has developed an open collaborative platform to lead the revolution of the construction industry, engaging startups, entrepreneurs, universities, and other stakeholders to tackle the challenges in the construction environment and shape the industry’s future.
Dysruptek
Formed in 2018, Dysruptek is the venture investment arm of The Haskell Company. Dysruptek seeks to invest in disruptive Architecture, Engineering and Construction technologies reshaping the built world. Dysruptek acts as an agent of change and partner to innovators driving meaningful impact across the industry. Invest. Invent. Innovate.
Ferrovial
Ferrovial is a leading global infrastructure operator committed to developing sustainable solutions. It is a member of Spain’s blue-chip IBEX 35 index and is also included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and FTSE4Good Index; all its operations are conducted in compliance with the principles of the UN Global Compact, which the company adopted in 2002.
The Hilti Group
The Hilti Group supplies the worldwide construction and energy industries with technologically leading products, systems, software and services. With about 31,000 team members in over 120 countries the company stands for strong customer relationships, quality and innovation. Hilti generated annual sales of nearly USD 6.5 billion in 2021 and 6 to 7 percent of sales revenue is invested each year in research and development. With more than 280,000 daily interactions with customers we know that it is on the construction sites that most innovative ideas are developed.
VINCI Group’s Leonard
Leonard is the innovation and foresight platform set up by VINCI, a global player in concessions, energy and construction businesses, employing more than 272,000 people in more than 120 countries. Leonard was created to imagine the future of the Group’s business lines and is tasked with watching emerging trends in VINCI’s areas of expertise and markets, identifying new growth opportunities, and setting up incubation and acceleration programs for Group employees as well as start-ups. Each year, Leonard supports the acceleration and development of over 40 of the best innovative projects in construction, mobility, energy and real estate. To house these programs and start conversations with all the people blazing new trails in VINCI’s business lines, Leonard opened Leonard:Paris, a 4,500 square meters lab in Paris. Since 2020, Leonard has been expanding operation in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Latin America.
Nova by Saint-Gobain
NOVA, the external venturing arm of Saint-Gobain, identifies forward-thinking startups around the world whose philosophies align with Saint-Gobain’s focus on sustainability. It helps those startups nurture their ideas and grow their companies to scale through partnerships and investment. With a presence in Asia, Europe and North America, NOVA connects the global startup community with the power, resources, and experience of Saint-Gobain to address the needs of today and challenges of tomorrow.
Trimble
Trimble is an industrial technology company transforming the way the world works by delivering solutions that enable our customers to thrive. Core technologies in positioning, modeling, connectivity and data analytics connect the digital and physical worlds to improve productivity, quality, safety, transparency and sustainability. From purpose-built products to enterprise lifecycle solutions, Trimble is transforming industries such as agriculture, construction, geospatial and transportation.
Trimble Ventures
Launched in 2021, Trimble Ventures is a corporate venture capital fund focused on investing in early and growth-stage companies that align with Trimble’s mission of transforming work in the agriculture, construction, geospatial and transportation industries. The fund deploys strategic capital to accelerate the growth of innovative companies and partners that complement Trimble’s products, technology platforms and support its customer’s work. Trimble Ventures targets investing in companies with technologies and solutions related to hardware and software applications; artificial intelligence; augmented, virtual and mixed reality; autonomy and robotics; blockchain; the Internet of Things (IoT) and analytics; and sustainability.
Zacua Ventures
Zacua Ventures is a global early-stage venture fund tackling world’s biggest challenges across Sustainability, Productivity and Urbanization and backed by the most innovative corporates in the built world. Zacua is led by partners with more than 30 years of combined industry experience and who have been investing in construction tech for the past decade. With regional presence in San Francisco, Madrid and Singapore, Zacua helps entrepreneurs to build and strengthen their value proposition and scale their businesses globally, leveraging deep corporate networks.
